


Leaf by Leaf

by JKirin



Series: I'm your family (and you're mine) [3]
Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Bedtime Stories, Discord: Tenzou's Cabin, Established Relationship, Found Family, Gen, Kid Fic, Maito Oak | Might Oak, Mighty Oak, Poetry, Story within a Story, Tenzō's Cabin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:56:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28792806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JKirin/pseuds/JKirin
Summary: Gai is reading a special story to baby Mitsuki.
Relationships: Maito Gai | Might Guy/Yamato | Tenzou, Mitsuki & Yamato | Tenzou & Maito Gai | Might Guy
Series: I'm your family (and you're mine) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2111484
Comments: 12
Kudos: 12
Collections: Theme Of The Month Events





	Leaf by Leaf

**Author's Note:**

  * For [menecio](https://archiveofourown.org/users/menecio/gifts).



> YamaGai—check; baby Mitsuki and the tree dad—check-check; Found family, Tenzō’s Cabin, and poetry—check-check-check! I think this fic is one of my most self-indulging fics to date, lol. 
> 
> Menecio, darling, I hope you like it!

"—And Now To The Most Important Challenge Of The Day, My Dearest Child!" Gai declared with the usual enthusiasm, rolling into the bedroom right after the freshly bathed Mitsuki. "Who Between Us Will See The Most Wonderful Dreams Tonight?!"

The boy climbed under the covers diligently, despite not having any desire to sleep yet, and waited as the man raised from the wheelchair on the good leg and tucked him in from all sides while mumbling about how many thousands of words he would write should he lose the challenge. 

"Will you read me a story, papa?" he asked with a smile knowing full well that bedtime stories have become a cherished ritual for both him and his parents.

He liked asking because there was a time when he couldn't—wasn't brave enough to do it. But papa and daddy have been so giving and kind to him for the last year that he began feeling comfortable to do just that. Ask.

"Of Course, My Treasured Mitsuki!" Gai's face lit up and sparkled with excitement, drawing a delighted laugh out of him. His papa had the silliest reactions to the simplest things. They weren't out of pretence, how he thought at first, but of kindness instead. "Which one would you like? 'How the Prince Tortoise challenged a scarecrow' or maybe my favourite 'How the Prince Tortoise fell in love with a flower'?"

"I want that one," Mitsuki pointed at a book on the far end of his bookshelf that only found its way there earlier in the week. "You haven't read it to me yet." 

It was his papa's most recent published book and the first one outside the Prince Tortoise series.

"Ah! This one! Yes, Of Course!! I was waiting for a good time to read it to you as it is a little bit different from all the others but—I Shall Read it to You At Once!" 

Gai picked up the book and, sitting down beside Mitsuki, opened it on the first page. Immediately, the boy got intrigued by a simple illustration of a fragile seedling on what looked like a lonely hill and reached out to touch the page. Gai smiled and began reading.

_At the top of a hill in a land far away,_  
_stands a seedling alone; its leaves quietly sway._

_It has nowhere to hide from the blistering sun;_  
_there's no shield from the winds that frequently run._  
_Empty land – there isn't a bush nor a tree nearby._  
_It grows there all alone, but it is getting by..._

_On the nights full of rain and frightening lightning,_  
_through a quiver of fear, it would stay there fighting:_  
"I want one day to grow to a big, mighty tree  
with a trunk wide and strong that no wind could bend me!"  
_Its small roots would absorb murky water from storms_  
_and by morning it smiles as a new leaf bud forms._

_Leaf by leaf, day by day, this small seedling gets bigger._  
_Twig by twig, year by year; to grow large it is eager._

_On occasion it would get a visit or two:_  
_cheerful birds from the sky would come down to say_ Hi _,_  
_and a fluffy white rabbit would drop by, out of habit;_  
_friendly ants, butterflies, and at night fireflies—_  
_all would merrily chatter but too soon all would scatter._

 _With a smile, the seedling would request them to stay_  
_but would always hear back:_ "I must be on my way!"  
_One day, curious, it asked:_ "On your way, where to?"   
"To the woods down the hill, full of trees just like you!"  
"Full of trees just like me..." _no one heard it whisper_  
_rustling leaves, as the air around it got crisper._

_Leaf by leaf, day by day, it still grows but looks small._  
_Twig by twig, year by year; it's alone, after all._  
  


"Why can't they stay, papa?" Mitsuki asked when Gai paused the reading to turn the page, "Is it a bad seedling?"

"No-no, my sweet child! The seedling is wonderful and kind! It could never be bad! They can't stay because they live in the forest."

"Isn't it lonely?"

"Oh, yes. Very lonely, but shall we read more?"

"Yes," Mitsuki answered and snuggled closer to his papa. He was concerned about the little seedling because loneliness was something he knew well and wouldn't wish it on someone so small and fragile.

Gai continued.

_Having grown tall enough, the seedling now sees it—_  
_past the field down the hill—the one place all birds visit:_  
_a majestic forest stretching wide—a green sea!_  
_—with tall pines, mighty oaks, and other grown trees._

_What a beautiful sight! It just can't turn away!_  
_Wishes strongly the seedling, to be there one day._  
_It dreams_ of _gentle sounds running through the lush crowns,_  
_of the comforting shade that the woods surely make._  
_Stretching branches—now long!—_  
_wishes it to belong..._

 _Leaf by leaf, day by day, cries the seedling..._  
"Unfair!"  
_Twig by twig, year by year;_  
"Why do I grow out here?"

  
"Why does it grow here and not in the forest? Most trees grow in forests"

"This is a very good question that I am sure many little seedlings ask themselves. The truth is no one can say why one particular tree grows here and another there. However, it is very important to know and believe that every seedling, every tree, has a purpose regardless of where they are."

  
_Very lonely, the seedling remains on the hill,_  
_casting shadows dark, broad, keeping leaves very still._  
_Hoping that through the years, it will stop being sad,_  
_and will once again notice that this place isn't bad._

_It is there for a reason not easily seen:_  
_for the birds and rabbits, it's a sheltering tree._  
_When they stop to say_ Hi _, coming down from the sky,_  
_they are looking for shelter from a summer day's swelter_  
_or a comforting shoulder on the days that are colder._

_Leaf by leaf, day by day, now an oak, it's grown tall._  
_Twig by twig, year by year; it's alright, after all._

_On a very nice day, after cold driving rain,_  
_in the grass, not too far, it saw something bizarre—_  
_the sight so peculiar and oddly familiar—_  
_a seedling so tiny it looked almost funny!_

_But the sun was hot—_ scorching _, to the seedling's misfortune._  
_And the leaves were trembling, their form too much resembling_  
_of the oak's lonely past. Stretching branches, lush, vast,_  
_it protected the youngling that was, clearly, struggling._  
_In the comforting shade, it could stay unafraid._  
_***_  
_At the top of a hill in a land far away,_  
_grow a seedling and oak; their leaves quietly sway._

  
  


* * *

When Tenzō returned to the cabin after an exhausting day of guarding their Rokudaime at the annual council meeting, he knew exactly where to find his family. He just wasn't sure whether or not they would have finished the bedtime reading by then. Having discarded the uniform and weapons at the entrance, Tenzō went straight to Mitsuki's bedroom wanting to wish him a good night and give a kiss to his husband.

He paused at the doorway and smiled, finding both curled up on the bed sleeping soundly, with his boy clutching onto a book. Gai must have had a tiring day as well—the Academy has been asking for him more frequently. Because he was the best taijutsu master Konoha ever had, of course, but also because the kids simply adored him.

Tenzō walked to the bed, pulled the covers over the man and put the book back onto the shelf, then dropped simple kisses on their foreheads. He was about to leave and let them sleep in peace when Mitsuki turned and gently grabbed onto his hand.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Can you stay with me and papa?"

"Ah, sure. Give me a moment"

He laid down beside Mitsuki on the opposite side from Gai, amused that the man didn't even flinch being so deep in the sleep, and gently tucked the covers more snugly around Mitsuki. With half-lidded eyes, the boy kept looking at him.

"You should go back to sleep," he said, stroking the boy's soft hair.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for being my oak"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!😊
> 
> \---  
> This fic was written for the theme of the month event in [Tenzō's Cabin Discord Server](https://tenzoscabin.tumblr.com/post/633593713011146752/join-the-tenz%C5%8Ds-cabin-discord-server). January's theme is "From seedling to mighty oak".


End file.
